Tobacco leaf orienting machine

ABSTRACT

A vertically elongated chamber has a current of air blowing upwardly therethrough so that leaves deposited into the chamber are subjected to a combined effect of gravity and airflow and heavy stems of the leaves are thus oriented downwardly; conveyor means in the chamber translate the leaves laterally so that the leaves move, stem first, through an outlet passage at one side of the lower portion of the chamber. The leaves then fall onto a discharge conveyor with their stems oriented in the same direction. A zone of reduced pressure at the upper end of the chamber prevents the leaves being blown out the top of the chamber. Kicker means within the chamber above the conveyor means aid in separating leaves which may be stuck together.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Richard T. Brown Route 4, Box 251;Burnice H. Brown, Route 4; Harold D. Brown, Route 4, Box 311, all ofDarlington, S.C. 29532 211 Appl. No. 886,112 [22] Filed Dec. 18, 1969[45] Patented Nov. 30, 1971 I54] TOBACCO LEAF ORIENTING MACHINE 14Clalms, 7 Drawing Flgs.

[52] U.S. Cl 198/33 R [51] Int. Cl 865g 47/24 [50] Field of Search193/43; 198/33 R; 131/149 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,618,373 11/1952 Hathaway l93/33R 2,796,202 6/1957 Lawrenceetal.3,439,793 4/1969 Rakestraw Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk AssislantE.raminerH. S. Lane Allurneyx-Munson H. Lane and Munson H. Lane, Jr.

ABSTRACT: A vertically elongated chamber has a current of air blowingupwardly therethrough so that leaves deposited into the chamber aresubjected to a combined effect of gravity and airflow and heavy stems ofthe leaves are thus oriented downwardly; conveyor means in the chambertranslate the leaves laterally so that the leaves move. stem first.through an voutlet passage at one side of the lower portion ofthechamber.

The leaves then fall onto a discharge conveyor with their stems orientedin the same direction. A zone of reduced pressure at the upper end ofthe chamber prevents the leaves being blown out the top of the chamber.Kicker means within the chamber above the conveyor means aid inseparating leaves which may be stuck together.

1 1 I, I 1 o I 0 e g h PATENTEDNUV 30 I971 SHEET 1 UF 3 mvmmns OWN B ROWN 8s 8 R0 WN RICHARD T. BR BURNICE H.

ATTOR N Id" HARD LD D.

PATENTEUNUV 3019?! 3,623,595

SHEET 2 OF 3 FIG .3.

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INVENTORS /R|CHARD T. BROWN BURNICE H.BROWN a p 35 HAROLD D. BROWN ATTURN l-JY S PATENTEDNUVGIOISTI 3,623,595

SHEET 3 OF 3 FIG. 6.

rwzz/j 3| 26 30 4 M29 J Ra 1 i 9 a @fi/ TOBACCO LEAF ORIENTING MACHINEThis invention relates to new and useful improvements in machines fororienting tobacco leaves after they have been harvested and are disposedat random, the principal object of the invention being to arrange theleaves so that their stems are oriented in the same direction, thusenabling the leaves to be tied in bundles or otherwise furtherprocessed.

The machine of the invention is simple in construction, efficient anddependable in operation, and may be associated with a conventionaltobacco leaf harvester. Alternatively, the machine may be a separateentity, either stationary or portably mounted.

It is an object of the invention to provide a tobacco leaf orientingmachine comprising a vertically disposed ductlike housing defining avertically elongated chamber having a leaf inlet at its upper end and aleaf outlet at one side of its lower end portion, a blower for producinga current of air upwardly through the chamber so that leaves depositedinto the chamber through the inlet are subjected to the combined effectof gravity and upward airflow and are thereby oriented with theirrelatively heavy stems pointing downwardly, an endless leaf carrierprovided in the lower end portion of said chamber and movable in thedirection of the leaf outlet, the endless leaf carrier being foraminousto permit the upward flow of air therethrough.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an out wardly flaredopen top portion for the ductlike housing of the invention to provide areduced pressure zone within the elongated chamber.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a downwardly inclinedpartition within said outwardly flared open top which divides the opentop into a narrow leaf inlet passage and a wide air exhaust passage.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a foraminous screenover the air exhaust passage through the outwardly flared open top.

It is another object of the invention to provide blower means at thebottom of the vertically disposed housing to push air upwardly throughthe housing.

It is a further object of the invention to provide leaf-translatingmeans in the housing of the invention above the endless carrier, toengage the downwardly moving leaves and move them upwardly and towardone side of the housing. The translating means preferably includes a setof pivotally mounted fingers extending transversely across the elongatedchamber and means for causing alternate fingers to oscillate from adownwardly inclined position to a horizontal position and vice versa 180out of phase with the oscillatory movement of the other fingers of theset. The translating means is effective to separate leaves which may bestuck together and to move the leaves toward one side ofthe chamber.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a leaf outlet chuteoffset from one side of the lower end portion of the ductlike housing,the outlet chute having a foraminous wall downwardly inclined from theductlike housing through which air may pass.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a discharge conveyorat the bottom of the outlet chute.

With the foregoing more important objects and features in view and suchother objects and features which may become apparent as thisspecification proceeds, the invention will be understood from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designatelike parts, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 1-1 of FIG. 3 ofamachine in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially in the planeof the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG, 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view showing theactuating means for the kicker arms;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the drive mechanism;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view, partly in elevation and partly in sectionalong the line 6-6 in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional detail, taken in the plane of the line 7- 7 inFIG. 6.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the tobacco leaforienting machine of the invention is designated generally by thereference numeral 10, the same comprising a vertically elongated housing11 which defines a vertically elongated chamber 12. The chamber 12 isopen at the bottom of the housing to facilitate ingress of air, and theupper end of the chamber is also open for the outlet of air, the airflowupwardly through the chamber as indicated by the arrows 13 beingproduced by one or more blowers or fans 14 mounted in the lower endportion of the housing.

For purpose of describing the function of the various portions of themachine the housing may be described as having an upper end portion A,an intermediate portion B and a lower end portion C, as indicated inFIG. 2.

The sidewall portions at the upper end of the housing 11 are outwardlyflared as at lla, and a partition I5 is provided in the open upper endof the housing in closely adjacent relation to one of the flared wallportions 11a. The space between that wall portion and the partitiondefines an inlet passage 16 through which tobacco leaves may bedeposited into the chamber 12, as indicated at 17, as for example by asuitable supply conveyor 18. The conveyor 18 discharges the leaves intothe inlet passage 16 while the leaves are disposed at random on theconveyor, but as the leaves enter the chamber 12 through the passage 16,they are subjected to a combined effect of gravity and upward airflow,which causes their relatively heavy steams to be oriented downwardly, asindicated at 17a The open upper end of the chamber 12 is preferablycovered by a screen 19 to safeguard against any possibility of theleaves being blow outwardly therethrough, although it will be understoodthat the force of the current of air through the chamber is normallyonly sufficient to promote the leaf-orienting action in conjunction withgravity as already described, so that the leaves gravitate in thechamber rather than having a tendency to be blown upwardly. In relationto the air outlet at the top of the chamber, the leaf inlet passage 16is of a small cross section and this, coupled with the fact that thepassage 16 is slanted in parallel to the wall portion lla, precludes anypossibility of leaves being blown upwardly from the passage 16 afterthey are dropped thereinto by the conveyor 18.

Further the outwardly flared upper end portion A of the housing 11provides a zone of reduced pressure at the upper end of the chamber 12whereby the upward flow of air has less effect on the tobacco leaves inthe upper end of the chamber 12 than in the midsection B of the chamberwhere the walls of housing 11 are vertical. Thus, tobacco leaves whichmay be forced up into the upper end A of the chamber 12 by the upwardflow of air therein, are able to drop back into the midportion B of thechamber 12. The leaf as it falls back orients itself with the heavierstem pointing downwardly and the flat leaf portion extending verticallyupwardly therefrom.

A foraminous endless leaf carrier 20 is provided in the lower endportion of the chamber 12 above the blowers 14 so that the current ofair from the blowers passes through the carrier and upwardly through thechamber. As shown, the endless carrier 20 is in the form of a screendrum carried by a horizontal shaft 21 journaled in the housing 11.However, if preferred, the carrier may be in the form of an endlessscreen conveyor or a slat conveyor passing around a pair of rollers, butin any event the carrier is driven in such direction that leaves fallingon top of the carrier are delivered through an outlet opening 22 in onesidewall of the housing 11, into an outlet passage 23 which is definedby an extension 24 on that sidewall of the lower portion of the housing.

A set of transversely spaced kicker arms 25 are provided in the chamber12 above the carrier 20 for the purpose of engaging the falling leavesto aid in separating leaves which may be stuck together by translatingthem upwardly and laterally as at 1712 so that they fall onto thecarrier 20 with their stems oriented in the direction of the outletopening 22. The kicker arms or members 25 may be in the form of rodswhich are hinged in the housing 11 as shown at 26 in FIG. 6, the hingeaxis being transverse to the direction of movement of the carrier 20, orin other words, parallel to the shaft 21, and permitting the kicker arms25 to oscillate in vertical planes, between a substantially horizontalraised position and downwardly slanted lowered position, as indicated bythe arrow 27 in FIG. 1.

The kicker arms 25 project outwardly through openings 28 in the housing11 (see FIG. 6) and their outer end portions are connected to actuatinglinks 29, there being one such link for each of the kicker arms andhaving an apertured upper end loosely positioned on the projecting endportion of the kicker arm between a pair of retaining collars 30, 3], aswill be apparent.

The lower end of each link 29 is provided with a tubular member 32 whichrotatably encircles an eccentric 33 secured to a shaft 34 which isjournaled in bearings 35 on the outside of the housing 11, the severaleccentrics 33 on the shaft 34 being out of phase so that while alternatekicker arms 25 are moving downwardly, those between them are movingupwardly, and vice versa. As already noted, the oscillating movement ofthe kicker arms serves to translate the stem-down oriented leaves 17aupwardly and laterally as at 17b, so that they drop into engagement withthe carrier with their stems oriented in the direction of the outletopening 22 and are discharged by the carrier through that opening intothe outlet passage 23, where the leaves again assume the stem-downorientation and ultimately fall upon a discharge conveyor 36. Thisconveyor is provided under the housing extension 24 and moves in thedirection of the arrow 37 as shown in FIG. 3, and when the downwardlyoriented stems of the leaves 170 in the outlet passage 23 come intocontact with the conveyor, the leaves fall flat on the conveyor as at17d, with their stems oriented in the same direction, that is, thedirection of travel of the conveyor, as at 37.

The stem-down orientation of the leaves 170 in the outlet passage 23 isfurther assisted, as in the main chamber 12, by the combined effect ofgravity and upward airflow, and for this purpose the offset housingextension 24 is provided with a sloping screened portion 40 whichpermits a portion of the air delivered by the blowers 14 to flowlaterally and upwardly through the opening 22 and to be dischargedoutwardly from the passage 23 through the screen 40 as indicated at 39.The outward flow of air through screen 40 also induces a slight flow ofair upwardly through the bottom of the housing extension 24.

A suitable drive motor 41 rotates a drive shaft 42 which is journaled inthe lower end portion of the housing 11 and is connected by a belt drive43 to a countershaft 44, which in turn drives the shaft 21 and theassociated carrier 20 through a belt drive 45. At the opposite end ofthe machine the shaft 21 is connected by a belt drive 46 to the shaft34, thus actuating the links 29 and the kicker arms 25. Moreover, thedrive shaft 42 is connected by belt drives 47 to the blowers 14 (seeFIG. 1) and the motor 41 thus drives all the moving components of themachine with exception of the leafsupply conveyor 18 and the deliveryconveyor 36, which conveyors may be driven separately, as for example at48.

A baffle 49 is provided adjacent the housing wall opposite opening 22and over the endless carrier 20 to deflect leaves onto the surface ofthe carrier and guard against the leaves being caught between thecarrier and the housing wall with ensuing possible damage to the leaves.Also a downwardly inclined baffle 50 is provided adjacent the commoninner wall 38 separating the housing 12 and its offset housing extension24 to overlay the discharge conveyor 36 and guard against leaves fallingbetween the conveyor 36 and the wall 38.

What is claimed is:

l. A tobacco leaf orienting machine, comprising in combination avertically elongated chamber having a leaf inlet at its upper end and aleaf outlet at one side ofits lower end portion. means for producing acurrent of air upwardly through said chamber so that leaves depositedinto the chamber through said inlet are subjected to a combined effectof gravity and upward airflow and are thereby oriented with theirrelatively heavy stems pointing downwardly, an endless leaf carrierprovided in the lower end portion of said chamber and movable in thedirection of said leaf outlet, and leaf-translating means provided insaid chamber above said carrier, said translating means being operativeto laterally deflect the stemdown oriented leaves so that they come toengage said carrier with their stems pointed in the direction of saidleaf outlet, said endless carrier being foraminous and having saidcurrent of air passing upwardly therethrough.

2. The machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said chamber isconstituted by a housing which also includes a lateral extensiondefining an outlet passage in communication with said leaf outlet of thechamber, and an oriented-leaf delivery conveyor provided at the bottomof said outlet passage.

3. The machine as set forth in claim 2 wherein said air currentproducing means includes a blower at the lower end of said chamberforcing air upwardly through the chamber and also laterally into saidoutlet passage, said lateral housing extension having a foraminous wallfor dispersion of forced air outwardly from said passage.

4, The machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said air currentproducing means includes a blower at the lower end of said chamber belowsaid endless carrier, said blower forcing air upwardly through theforaminous carrier and through said chamber.

5. The machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leaftranslatingmeans comprise a set of transversely spaced oscillatory kicker membersprovided in said chamber above said carrier.

6. The machine as set forth in claim 5 which is further characterized inthat said kicker members are oscillated in vertical planes about ahorizontal axis transverse to the direction of movement of said carrier.

7. The machine as set forth in claim 6 which is further characterized inthat said kicker members are oscillated between a substantiallyhorizontal position and a downwardly slanted position.

8. The machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein said chamber isconstituted by a housing having an open upper end, together with apartition provided in the upper end portion of said housing in closelyadjacent relation to one side thereof, said leaf inlet existing betweensaid one side of the housing and said partition.

9. The machine as defined in claim 8 which is further characterized inthat said one side of the upper end portion of said housing is outwardlyflared, said partition being disposed in closely spaced parallelrelation to said flared side of the housing.

10. A tobacco leaf orienting machine comprising in combination avertically elongated housing having an open upper end portion, a lowerend portion and an intermediate portion between said upper and lower endportions, said housing defining a vertically elongated chamber, a leafinlet in the upper end portion of said housing, and a leaf outlet at oneside of the housing in the lower end portion thereof, blower means insaid bottom end portion for forcing a current of air upwardly throughsaid chamber so the leaves deposited into said chamber through saidinlet are subjected to a combined effect of gravity and upward airflowand are thereby oriented with their relatively heavy stems pointeddownwardly, and conveyor means within said chamber above said blowermeans for moving tobacco leaves transversely of said chamber in thedirection of said outlet means, said conveyor means compris ing aforaminous endless carrier through which said air current will pass.

11. The machine as set forth in claim 10 wherein said upper end portionhas sidewalls flaring outwardly and upwardly from the top of saidintermediate portion, defining a zone or reduced air pressure inrelation to the air pressure in said intermediate portion, and a slantedpartition extending across said upper end portion and separating theopen end thereof into said leaf inlet and into an air exhaust passage,said zone of reduced pressure being effective to prevent any leaveswhich are forced into said zone by upward airflow from passing out ofsaid chamber through said open upper end portion and permitting theleaves to fall back downwardly through said chamber.

12. The machine set forth in claim 11 wherein said air exhaust passageis covered with a foraminous screen.

13. The machine set forth in claim wherein said endless carrier is aforaminous cylindrical drum, mounted horizontally within the lower endportion of said housing with means for rotating the drum so that theupper surface of the drum rotates in the direction of said leaf outlet.

14. A tobacco leaf orienting machine comprising in combination avertically elongated housing having an open upper end portion, a lowerend portion and an intermediate portion between said upper and lower endportions, said housing defining a vertically elongated chamber, a leafinlet in the upper end portion of said housing, and a leafoutlet at oneside of the housing in the lower end portion thereof, blower means insaid bottom end portion for forcing a current of air upwardly throughsaid chamber so the leaves deposited into said chamber through saidinlet are subjected to a combined effect of gravity and upward airflowand are thereby oriented with their relatively heavy stems pointeddownwardly and conveyor means within said chamber above said blowermeans for moving tobacco leaves transversely of said chamber in thedirection of said outlet means, together with thrust means mounted insaid intermediate portion above said conveyor means for strikingdownwardly falling leaves and giving them an upward and sidewise thrust,said thrust means comprising a set of multiple horizontally spacedkicker members pivotally mounted on one side of said housing on asubstantially horizontal axis and extending inwardly substantiallyacross said chamber, and means for oscillating said kicker membersbetween a substantially horizontal position and a downwardly inclinedposition, with alternate kicker members oscillating 1 out of phase withthe other members of said set.

n w n

1. A tobacco leaf orienting machine, comprising in combination avertically elongated chamber having a leaf inlet at its upper end and aleaf outlet at one side of its lower end portion, means for producing acurrent of air upwardly through said chamber so that leaves depositedinto the chamber through said inlet are subjected to a combined effectof gravity and upward airflow and are thereby oriented with theirrelatively heavy stems pointing downwardly, an endless leaf carrierprovided in the lower end portion of said chamber and movable in thedirection of said leaf outlet, and leaf-translating means provided insaid chamber above said carrier, said translating means being operativeto laterally deflect the stem-down oriented leaves so that they come toengage said carrier with their stems pointed in the direction of saidleaf outlet, said endless carrier being foraminous and having saidcurrent of air passing upwardly therethrough.
 2. The machine as setforth in claim 1 wherein said chamber is constituted by a housing whichalso includes a lateral extension defining an outlet passage incommunication with said leaf outlet of the chamber, and an oriented-leafdelivery conveyor provided at the bottom of said outlet passage.
 3. Themachine as set forth in claim 2 wherein said air current producing meansincludes a blower at the lower end of said chamber forcing air upwardlythrough the chamber and also laterally into said outlet passage, saidlateral housing extension having a foraminous wall for dispersion offorced air outwardly from said passage.
 4. The machine as set forth inclaim 1 wherein said air current producing means includes a blower atthe lower end of said chamber below said endless carrier, said blowerforcing air upwardly through the foraminous carrier and through saidchamber.
 5. The machine as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidleaf-translating means comprise a set of transversely spaced oscillatorykicker members provided in said chamber above said carrier.
 6. Themachine as set forth in claim 5 which is further characterized in thatsaid kicker members are oscillated in vertical planes about a horizontalaxis transverse to the direction of movement of said carrier.
 7. Themachine as set forth in claim 6 which is further characterIzed in thatsaid kicker members are oscillated between a substantially horizontalposition and a downwardly slanted position.
 8. The machine as set forthin claim 1 wherein said chamber is constituted by a housing having anopen upper end, together with a partition provided in the upper endportion of said housing in closely adjacent relation to one sidethereof, said leaf inlet existing between said one side of the housingand said partition.
 9. The machine as defined in claim 8 which isfurther characterized in that said one side of the upper end portion ofsaid housing is outwardly flared, said partition being disposed inclosely spaced parallel relation to said flared side of the housing. 10.A tobacco leaf orienting machine comprising in combination a verticallyelongated housing having an open upper end portion, a lower end portionand an intermediate portion between said upper and lower end portions,said housing defining a vertically elongated chamber, a leaf inlet inthe upper end portion of said housing, and a leaf outlet at one side ofthe housing in the lower end portion thereof, blower means in saidbottom end portion for forcing a current of air upwardly through saidchamber so the leaves deposited into said chamber through said inlet aresubjected to a combined effect of gravity and upward airflow and arethereby oriented with their relatively heavy stems pointed downwardly,and conveyor means within said chamber above said blower means formoving tobacco leaves transversely of said chamber in the direction ofsaid outlet means, said conveyor means comprising a foraminous endlesscarrier through which said air current will pass.
 11. The machine as setforth in claim 10 wherein said upper end portion has sidewalls flaringoutwardly and upwardly from the top of said intermediate portion,defining a zone or reduced air pressure in relation to the air pressurein said intermediate portion, and a slanted partition extending acrosssaid upper end portion and separating the open end thereof into saidleaf inlet and into an air exhaust passage, said zone of reducedpressure being effective to prevent any leaves which are forced intosaid zone by upward airflow from passing out of said chamber throughsaid open upper end portion and permitting the leaves to fall backdownwardly through said chamber.
 12. The machine set forth in claim 11wherein said air exhaust passage is covered with a foraminous screen.13. The machine set forth in claim 10 wherein said endless carrier is aforaminous cylindrical drum, mounted horizontally within the lower endportion of said housing with means for rotating the drum so that theupper surface of the drum rotates in the direction of said leaf outlet.14. A tobacco leaf orienting machine comprising in combination avertically elongated housing having an open upper end portion, a lowerend portion and an intermediate portion between said upper and lower endportions, said housing defining a vertically elongated chamber, a leafinlet in the upper end portion of said housing, and a leaf outlet at oneside of the housing in the lower end portion thereof, blower means insaid bottom end portion for forcing a current of air upwardly throughsaid chamber so the leaves deposited into said chamber through saidinlet are subjected to a combined effect of gravity and upward airflowand are thereby oriented with their relatively heavy stems pointeddownwardly, and conveyor means within said chamber above said blowermeans for moving tobacco leaves transversely of said chamber in thedirection of said outlet means, together with thrust means mounted insaid intermediate portion above said conveyor means for strikingdownwardly falling leaves and giving them an upward and sidewise thrust,said thrust means comprising a set of multiple horizontally spacedkicker members pivotally mounted on one side of said housing on asubstantially horizontal axis and extending inwardly substantiallyacross said chamber, and means for oscillatiNg said kicker membersbetween a substantially horizontal position and a downwardly inclinedposition, with alternate kicker members oscillating 180out of phase withthe other members of said set.